Written Answers Wednesday 9 November 2005

Scottish Executive

Buildings

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to review Scottish building regulations and associated codes of practice to improve installation and maintenance standards to reduce the risk of appliances emitting carbon monoxide.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
The SBSA has no plans to review the standards and related guidance to improve installation of combustion appliances to reduce the risk of carbon monoxide emissions since the building regulations call up the latest relevant British and European standards. The Gas Appliance (Safety) Regulations 1995 require virtually all gas appliances for sale in the UK to be fitted with a shut-off device to prevent the escape of dangerous gases and this safety requirement will have a significant affect on the reduction of accidental release of dangerous gases.


  Building regulations apply at the time of installation, but cannot control maintenance.

Council Tax

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) individual pensioners and (b) pensioner households are exempt partially or wholly from council tax payments; what the total cost is of these exemptions, and what the total cost to it would be of making all pensioners wholly exempt from paying council tax.

George Lyon: Information on the numbers of pensioners and pensioner households who are exempt from council tax in Scotland is not held centrally. Information on the estimated numbers of pensioner household-equivalent units receiving council tax benefit in Scotland and the average weekly benefit payments paid to these units is published annually by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Figures for May 2004 are available from the DWP statistics website at: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/hbctb.asp .

  Exempting all pensioners from any liability to pay council tax would raise a number of definitional issues and would also have complex and significant national and local financial implications. Any estimate provided would therefore be speculative and could be misleading.

Ferry Services

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why no subsidy is paid to Pentland Ferries for the transportation of people and livestock across the Pentland Firth, when £23 million has been paid to Northlink for its service.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive supports a ferry service across the Pentland Firth as part of a grant awarded following a competitive tender process under European Union state aid rules and maritime guidelines. Successive governments have supported a ferry service on this route since the early 1980s. The current invitation to tender for the Northern Isles ferry service includes a requirement for passengers, vehicles and freight, which encompasses livestock, on the Scrabster – Stromness route. The tender competition is being pursued under the EU rules involved, and to fulfil the Executive’s policy of securing this lifeline ferry route for the benefit of the islands. The Executive has no plans to support any additional ferry services on the Pentland Firth route to meet a similar requirement.

Fire Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) uniformed and (b) non-uniformed female personnel are employed in the fire and rescue services in (i) retained posts, (ii) whole-time posts, (iii) emergency fire control rooms and (iv) volunteer and auxiliary posts.

Hugh Henry: The information requested is given in the table of the Diversity Profile of Scottish Fire Brigades by Sector on page 29 of the Annual Report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Fire Services for Scotland published in December 2004, a copy of which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 34686). Updated figures will be included in HM Chief Inspector’s Annual Report for 2004-05, which will be published shortly.

Fire Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what targets the fire and rescue authorities have set for recruitment of (a) uniformed and (b) non-uniformed (i) female, (ii) black and ethnic minority and (iii) lesbian, gay and transsexual staff and when these targets must be met.

Hugh Henry: This is a matter for individual fire and rescue authorities and joint fire and rescue boards, not the Scottish Executive.

Fire Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when a decision will be made in respect of proposals to amalgamate emergency fire control rooms.

Hugh Henry: We have been undertaking further work in respect of the issues raised in response to the consultation exercise on this issue. Ministers are considering a number of options and I will report the conclusions to Parliament in due course.

Fire Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a freeze has been put on spending on existing fire control rooms pending a decision on their future and, if so, when this freeze was implemented.

Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive has not placed a "freeze" on investment in emergency fire control rooms. Decisions on investment in individual control rooms are primarily a matter for fire and rescue authorities and joint fire and rescue boards.

Fire Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive at what stage each fire and rescue authority’s integrated risk management plan is and what the projected dates are for completing each stage.

Hugh Henry: The introduction of Integrated Risk Management Plans (IRMPs) took effect from April 2005. All fire and rescue authorities and joint fire and rescue boards have completed the compilation of, and consultation on, their initial IRMPs, which are now being implemented. As part of the IRMP process, fire and rescue authorities and joint fire and rescue boards produce, and consult widely on, draft annual action plans setting out the details of how the IRMP is to be implemented in each year of the plan. Fire and rescue authorities are currently developing their draft year two action plans which will go out to formal consultation to all stakeholders likely to be affected by the proposals. Following consideration of consultation responses, the action plans will be implemented in April 2006.

Fire Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the standard attendance time is for the first fire engine to arrive at a house fire in each fire and rescue authority.

Hugh Henry: This information is not held centrally. Individual fire and rescue authorities and joint fire and rescue boards include target attendance times within their Integrated Risk Management Plans, which are subject to wide consultation before they are implemented. Individual fire and rescue services are required to publish annual performance data in respect of response times.

Fire Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the recommended number of firefighters required is to deal with a (a) house fire and (b) fire in a multi-storey block.

Hugh Henry: It is for individual fire and rescue services to determine the weight and speed of operational response to incidents in their areas, in the context of their Integrated Risk Management Plan. In doing so, fire and rescue services take cognisance of relevant national guidance and other regulatory requirements such as health and safety regulations in order to provide effective protection to their communities and safe systems of work for their employees and those who may be affected by their operations.

Fire Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies there are in the retained duty system in each fire and rescue authority.

Hugh Henry: This information is not held centrally.

Fire Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what work is being carried out to improve the recruitment and retention of staff in the retained duty system in each fire and rescue authority and what support this work receives from central government.

Hugh Henry: Recruitment and retention of staff is primarily a matter for individual fire and rescue authorities and joint fire and rescue board. The Scottish Executive provides central funding, support and guidance. This has included two independent research programmes on issues affecting staff on the retained duty system, including recruitment and retention. The resulting reports were publicised in 2002 Retained Auxiliary and Volunteer Firefighters in the Scottish Fire Service by the Central research Unit, and in 2003 Part-time Firefighters by Scottish Executive Social Research, and can be viewed at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/Fire/15130/1027 .

  We have indicated in the Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland 2005 that we will work with Fire and Rescue Authorities to implement the report’s recommendations.

  The framework also states that we expect part-time staff to be given the same opportunities as their whole-time counterparts to participate in the Integrated Personal Development System and undertake development programmes commensurate with the requirements of individual fire and rescue authorities.

  HM Fire Services Inspectorate for Scotland is currently reviewing progress and identifying areas of best practice in the wider use of part time staff in all eight Scottish Fire and Rescue Services as part of their performance inspections arrangements.

Fire Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will afford full liability insurance cover to fire and rescue service personnel attending terrorist incidents, given that the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 places a legal requirement on fire and rescue authorities to attend terrorist incidents.

Hugh Henry: Dependant on the circumstances of an individual, the Firefighters Pension Scheme and the Scheme of Conditions of Service for Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services provide lump sums of up to seven times pensionable pay in the event of death and up to 85% of salary if an injury curtails earnings capacity. These are no fault awards and are intended to ensure that firefighters or their dependants are adequately compensated without either the need for litigation or to purchase additional insurance cover. The decision to take out a personal insurance policy is a matter of personal choice for individuals, however, only a small number of personal insurance policy types have terrorism exclusion clauses.

Fire Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional equipment has been given to fire and rescue services to deal with terrorist incidents.

Hugh Henry: Since 2004, details of equipment provided to fire and rescue services have been included in the Annual Reports of Her Majesty’s Fire Services Inspectorate . A copy of the reports for the reporting years 2002-03 and 2003-04 are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 30472 and 34686 respectively). Updated details will be included in HM Chief Inspector’s Annual Report for 2004-05, which will be published shortly.

Fire Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many additional staff have been employed in the fire and rescue services as a direct result of the new dimension programme.

Hugh Henry: The purpose of the new dimension programme in Scotland is to improve overall fire and rescue service capability and resilience to deal with major incidents, including terrorist-related incidents, and relatively less serious incidents which may occur. The programme has been established as a collaborative exercise between the Scottish Executive, as providers of appropriate equipment, training and support, and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Authorities, as employers of the staff to deploy the new resources in addition to their existing duties. This approach has been agreed with Chief Officers of all Scottish fire and rescue services.

  The Scottish Executive continues to support this project by providing the necessary funding for two dedicated staff members within HM Fire Services Inspectorate. These staff co-ordinate and manage the programme, including a planning and training liaison role with fire and rescue services, training establishments, emergency service partners and on relevant national working groups.

Fisheries

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-19691 by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 October 2005, why it is the responsibility of the Crown Estate to answer questions on the content of the Annat Bay fish farm report if that report was produced by the Scottish Executive.

Malcolm Chisholm: The report into proposals to establish a finfish farm at Annat Bay was produced by an inquiry reporter provided by the Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters Unit. The Inquiry Reporters Unit has no input into the content of his report which is made directly to the Crown Estate Commissioners. The final decision on whether or not the reporter’s recommendations are accepted rests with the Crown Estate Commissioners whose policy is to accept those recommendations except where to do so would compromise their statutory responsibilities in terms of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2004 or the Environmental Impact Assessment (Fish Farming in Marine Waters) Regulations 1999.

Fuel Poverty

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the most recent figures are on levels of fuel poverty in households.

Malcolm Chisholm: The most up-to-date information is available from the 2002 Scottish House Condition Survey (SCHS) which showed an estimated 286,000 households (13%) to be in fuel poverty. Since 2002, the House Condition Survey methodology moved towards a continuous reporting method. The first data analyses are expected to be available by early 2006. Data of comparable quality to the SHCS 2002 data are expected by late 2007.

G8 Summit

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been prosecuted for crimes and offences relating to G8 protests, broken down by the (a) police force and (b) local authority area where the offence took place.

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are still awaiting prosecution for crimes and offences relating to G8 protests, broken down by the (a) police force and (b) local authority area where the offence took place.

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have had charges relating to G8 protests dropped and for what reasons, broken down by the (a) police force and (b) local authority area where the alleged offence took place.

Colin Boyd QC: Comprehensive information is not available. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Case Management Database records details of the charges against each accused in terms of the specific common law or statutory offence that is alleged to have been committed. It is not possible to identify separately within the Database offences relating to specific events.

  An analysis of information collated at the time of the G8 Summit indicates however that, during the period 5 to 12 July 2005, G8-related cases involving a total of 309 accused called in the Sheriff Courts at Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow, Perth and Stirling. The following table provides a more detailed breakdown of those figures.

  G8-Related Cases Calling In Court : 5 to 12 July 2005

  

Sheriff Court
No. of Accused
Pled Guilty
Pled Not Guilty or Case Otherwise Continued


Edinburgh
113
2
111


Falkirk
39
1
38


Glasgow
16
1
15


Perth
91
0
91


Stirling
50
6
44


Total
309
10
299

Higher Education

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many graduates have qualified as trained planners in each of the last five years.

Allan Wilson: The number of graduates from Scottish higher education institutions in planning subjects in the past five years is given in the following table.

  

 Academic Year
Total
Postgraduate
First Degree


2003-04
205
75
130


2002-03
180
90
80


2001-02
200
85
115


2000-01
270
140
130


1999-2000
265
125
140



  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency; figures have been rounded to the nearest five.

Human Rights

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all European Court of Human Rights cases which have involved Scotland and give details of the subsequent impact on Scots law of these cases.

Hugh Henry: The European Court of Human Rights maintains a database of cases that have been taken to it for consideration, which is available on the internet at: http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/search.asp?skin=hudoc-en .

  A search of that database as at 2 November 2005 identified 38 cases where Scotland was mentioned in the judgement. Other cases brought against the United Kingdom but not specifically involving Scotland may nonetheless have had an impact in Scotland as involving aspects of United Kingdom law that are applicable in Scotland. The Scottish Executive does not have a single analysis of the impact on Scots law of all these cases and such an analysis could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Justice

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether records are kept of crimes involving the use of swords or claymores rather than knives and, if so, whether it will publish relevant figures for the last 10 years.

Cathy Jamieson: The statistics available centrally on crimes recorded by the police do not distinguish the circumstances of the crime, such as the type of any weapon involved.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of prisoners released with electronic tags have reoffended.

Cathy Jamieson: To date, two prisoners have been released from prison with electronic monitoring imposed as a condition of their licence by the Parole Board. I understand that neither re-offended whilst subject to the restriction although one offender failed to comply with the licence condition relating to electronic monitoring.

Justice

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding each sheriff court has received in each year since 1999.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Court Service delegates certain budgets to each sheriff court but a large proportion of running costs are managed at a central level. The following table gives a breakdown of the total of these direct running costs for each of the sheriff courts. Included are staff, accommodation (including capital charges) and other administrative costs. Judicial salaries/expenses, court operational costs (such as jurors’ expenses), capital or central service costs are not included.

  Information in this format is not available for the years 1999-2000 to 2000-01.

  The cost of capital element of the capital charge reduced from 6% in 2002-03 to 3.5% in 2003-04 and explains why most sheriff courts’ costs have decreased in 2003-04 (compared against 2002-03). All buildings were professionally re-valued at the end of 2003-04 and in the case of Aberdeen, Ayr and Dumbarton sheriff courts there was a decrease in value resulting in lower capital charges.

  

Sheriff Court
Costs (£ Thousand)


2004-05
2003-04
2002-03
2001-02


Aberdeen
1,795
1,901
1,830
1,772


Airdrie
1,119
934
905
848


Alloa
246
244
280
261


Arbroath
320
294
328
321


Ayr
1,118
1,237
1,815
1,667


Banff
164
129
142
133


Campbeltown
89
79
94
78


Cupar
249
194
193
185


Dingwall
194
158
179
168


Dornoch
109
94
90
83


Dumbarton
642
694
761
730


Dumfries
544
482
559
525


Dundee
1,326
1,204
1,326
1,239


Dunfermline
603
596
661
645


Dunoon
157
143
151
123


Edinburgh
7,182
6,838
8,467
7,866


Elgin
297
241
235
232


Falkirk
884
803
914
847


Forfar
253
217
230
222


Fort William
130
97
98
90


Glasgow
7,477
7,174
8,385
7,928


Greenock
823
753
825
766


Haddington
235
220
218
190


Hamilton
1,922
1,643
1,618
1,562


Inverness
599
589
605
564


Jedburgh and Duns
329
285
302
290


Kilmarnock
1,124
1,010
1,118
1,086


Kirkcaldy
827
720
734
707


Kirkcudbright
147
129
146
131


Kirkwall
130
111
108
101


Lanark
515
315
242
244


Lerwick
128
103
106
100


Linlithgow
1,210
747
688
692


Oban
119
107
121
113


Paisley
2,416
2,225
2,626
2,410


Peebles
281
199
81
71


Perth
746
700
755
713


Peterhead
351
341
424
386


Portree and Lochmaddy
192
149
160
148


Rothesay
312
211
82
77


Selkirk
210
177
182
162


Stirling
766
710
754
708


Stonehaven
208
150
163
157


Stornoway
127
116
136
126


Stranraer
230
213
244
233


Tain
108
91
110
106


Wick
168
135
130
116


Total
39,123
35,901
40,322
37,921

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many instances of anti-social behaviour by people aged from 12 to 15 have been reported to police in each month since January 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Hugh Henry: This information is not held centrally.

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many community reparation orders have been administered in each month since they were introduced, broken down by local authority area.

Cathy Jamieson: The following table provides the requested information for the three Community Reparation Order pilots in Dundee, Inverness and Greenock since commencement of the pilots in April:

  

 
April
May
June
July
August
September
Total


Dundee
 
2
5
 
2
1
10


Inverness
 
 
3
2
2
4
11


Greenock
 
3
 
 
 
2
5

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many restriction of liberty orders have been imposed on people under 16 in each month since they were introduced, broken down by local authority area.

Cathy Jamieson: One person under 16 has been made subject to a restriction of liberty order. This order was imposed by Glasgow Sheriff Court in August this year.

  Tagging is also available as part of intensive supervision and monitoring service (ISMS) which can be imposed on a young person by a Children’s Panel. The following table provides details of the ISMS orders made to date.

  

Month
Dundee
Dunbartonshire
EastDunbartonshire
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Highlands
Morayshire
Total


May
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1


June
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2


July
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1


August 
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
2


September
1
1
0
0
2
0
0
4


October
1
0
0
0
4
1
0
6


StillMonitored
2
1
1
0
6
1
1
12

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many convictions there have been for the sale of spray paint to people under 16 in each month since the offence was introduced, broken down by local authority area.

Cathy Jamieson: Finalised statistical data on convictions since October 2004 when this offence was introduced are not yet available. The court proceedings statistics for 2004-05 are scheduled for publication in March 2006.

Justice

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it is able to provide on whether there have been any disagreements between experts from Aberdeen fingerprint bureau and experts from the Scottish Criminal Records Office in Glasgow on what constitutes fingerprint identification and, if there have been any such disagreements, whether these disagreements have been resolved and, if so, how they were resolved and, if they have not been resolved, what steps it is taking to ensure that (a) miscarriages of justice do not occur and (b) all fingerprint identifications from the Scottish Fingerprint Service given in Scottish courts will be accompanied by information on the different approaches to the scientific basis of fingerprint identification which currently exist within the Scottish Fingerprint Service.

Cathy Jamieson: Experts in the Aberdeen office of the Scottish Fingerprint Service (SFS) recently disagreed with colleagues in the Glasgow office about the identification made in 1997 of a mark in the case of Shirley McKie.

  There is no difference of opinion in the SFS about the basis for identification. All SFS experts subscribe to the universally accepted definition that an identification is made when the fingerprint expert is personally satisfied that the order, relationship and unique properties of the features within any two prints are in agreement with no features in disagreement which cannot be explained. When a match is made the comparison is subject to separate verification by two further fingerprint officers.

  The processes used are subject to internal quality assurance and to external independent audit under the ISO 9001:2000 Certificate to which the SFS is accredited.

Justice

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Fingerprint Service and the Scottish Criminal Records Office use the same standards in respect of what constitutes fingerprint identification.

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that all experts within the new Scottish Fingerprint Service agree as to what the definition of a fingerprint identification is.

Cathy Jamieson: All experts within the Scottish Fingerprint Service, which is part of the Scottish Criminal Record Office, adopt the same standards for fingerprint identifications – an identification is made when the expert is personally satisfied that the order, relationship and unique properties of the features within any two prints are in agreement with no features in disagreement.

Justice

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it is able to provide on any fingerprint experts working in any of the fingerprint bureaux outside of the Scottish Criminal Records Office (SCRO) who have disagreed with any of the SCRO experts fingerprint identifications in the last 10 years, on what the level of disagreement was and on what measures were taken to resolve these disagreements.

Cathy Jamieson: The only known incidents concern the case of Shirley McKie when staff at Aberdeen and Edinburgh subsequently formed an opinion which differed from the original identification made by their colleagues in Glasgow.

  During the past 10 years, under the guidance and instruction of the Lord Advocate, more than 2,000 identifications made by experts in Glasgow were verified by experts from the Metropolitan Police Service and the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

  In addition, fingerprint experts now have annual competency tests and are subject to a Continuous Professional Development Programme. The processes used are subject to internal quality assurance and to external independent audit under the ISO 9001:2000 Certificate to which the Scottish Fingerprint Service is accredited.

Local Government Expenditure

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (IND): To ask the Scottish Executive what the expenditure per head was in each local authority, broken down into (a) education, (b) highways and transport, (c) social services, (d) housing, excluding housing revenue account (HRA), (e) culture, (f) environmental, (g) planning and development, (h) police, (i) courts, (j) central services, (k) other, (l) mandatory rent allowances, (m) mandatory rent rebates to non-HRA tenants and (n) mandatory rent rebates to HRA tenants, in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Mr Tom McCabe: The answers to questions (a) to (c) and (e) to (k) can be obtained from the following links on the Scottish Executive website. Table 3 in the first link gives local authority expenditure by service area. The second link is to the most recent mid-year population estimates which will provide population figures to allow an "expenditure per-head" figure to be calculated. It should be noted that the "central services" expenditure heading contains some district court expenditure.

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/16945/SLGFS.

  http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/library/recently-published-population-estimates/index.html.

  The following tables provide the answers to questions (d) and (l)-(n), although, as indicated in the footnotes, the information does not distinguish between HRA tenants and non-HRA tenants.

  Housing Expenditure Excluding Housing Revenue Account, 2003-04

  

 
Total Expenditure
(£000)
Net Expenditure
(£000)


Scotland 
494,298
52,109


Aberdeen City 
15,093
2,413


Aberdeenshire
11,190
794


Angus
7,740
1,278


Argyll and Bute
1,994
518


Clackmannanshire
4,496
166


Dumfries and Galloway
19,679
1,284


Dundee City 
14,274
1,463


East Ayrshire
399
196


East Dunbartonshire 
6,087
745


East Lothian 
10,389
552


East Renfrewshire 
6,659
381


Edinburgh City 
68,589
6,518


Eilean Siar
1,876
853


Falkirk 
10,870
1,903


Fife 
39,609
2,041


Glasgow City 
127,964
18,831


Highland 
15,746
1,509


Inverclyde
9,180
819


Midlothian 
6,079
59


Moray
8,160
466


North Ayrshire
18,632
719


North Lanarkshire 
6,076
-848


Orkney
978
232


Perth and Kinross
9,429
2,291


Renfrewshire
5,555
1,502


Scottish Borders
7,135
320


Shetland
2,515
497


South Ayrshire
8,926
-191


South Lanarkshire 
30,421
2,845


Stirling 
2,068
1,316


West Dunbartonshire 
5,248
690


West Lothian 
11,242
-53



  Source: Scottish Executive Local Financial Returns 2003-04.

  Housing Expenditure - Rent Allowances, 2003-04

  

 
Total Expenditure
(£000)
Net Expenditure
(£000)


Scotland 
635,343
41,878


Aberdeen City 
11,595
632


Aberdeenshire
8,953
1,084


Angus
7,984
304


Argyll and Bute
7,693
417


Clackmannanshire
4,157
102


Dumfries and Galloway
24,648
1,268


Dundee City 
22,206
1,438


East Ayrshire
9,205
555


East Dunbartonshire 
3,687
365


East Lothian 
5,603
13


East Renfrewshire 
4,439
203


Edinburgh City 
57,999
10,247


Eilean Siar
781
47


Falkirk 
6,575
311


Fife 
20,671
1,223


Glasgow City 
269,125
14,186


Highland 
12,234
840


Inverclyde
10,123
-17


Midlothian 
6,329
452


Moray
5,003
-16


North Ayrshire
12,156
844


North Lanarkshire 
19,867
918


Orkney
926
15


Perth and Kinross
7,858
511


Renfrewshire
25,475
1,050


Scottish Borders
15,534
1,132


Shetland
342
23


South Ayrshire
8,275
708


South Lanarkshire 
16,398
1,024


Stirling 
3,547
131


West Dunbartonshire 
12,449
809


West Lothian 
13,506
1,059



  Source: Scottish Executive Local Financial Returns 2003-04.

  Housing Expenditure - Rent Rebates, 2003-04

  

 
Total expenditure
(£000)
Net Expenditure
(£000)


Scotland 
495,107
20,673


Aberdeen City 
23,859
1,302


Aberdeenshire
12,173
193


Angus
8,118
231


Argyll and Bute
7,897
689


Clackmannanshire
6,694
330


Dumfries and Galloway
1,945
568


Dundee City 
24,486
973


East Ayrshire
18,179
1,097


East Dunbartonshire 
6,873
623


East Lothian 
8,224
727


East Renfrewshire 
4,499
104


Edinburgh City 
42,134
-4,136


Eilean Siar
2,563
143


Falkirk 
21,710
769


Fife 
49,045
2,189


Glasgow City 
0
0


Highland 
21,456
847


Inverclyde
16,250
1,114


Midlothian 
4,191
142


Moray
5,321
455


North Ayrshire
20,788
1,294


North Lanarkshire 
56,710
2,886


Orkney
1,003
14


Perth and Kinross
7,812
421


Renfrewshire
19,686
1,159


Scottish Borders
0
0


Shetland
1,870
59


South Ayrshire
13,188
848


South Lanarkshire 
45,193
3,083


Stirling 
7,900
559


West Dunbartonshire 
16,329
686


West Lothian 
19,011
1,304



  Source: Scottish Executive Local Financial Returns 2003-04.

  Notes:

  1. These figures are collected annually by the Scottish Executive on the Housing Local Financial Return.

  2. Housing, excluding housing revenue account includes expenditure on private sector housing renewal, homelessness, welfare services, administration of housing advances and supporting people.

  3. Housing Benefits: Rent allowances includes rent allowances paid to the tenants of private landlords and registered social landlords. It excludes any housing benefit paid to homeless people which is recorded in "other non-HRA housing".

  4. Housing Benefits: Rent rebate includes rent rebates paid to council tenants. The figures supplied to the Scottish Executive do not distinguish between rent rebates paid to HRA and non-HRA tenants.

  5. All inter account and inter authority transfers are deducted from total expenditure.

  6. Net expenditure is the expenditure to be financed from non-domestic rates, council tax and balances.

Local Government Finance

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Angus Council would receive less financial support if it were to close rural primary schools in its area.

Peter Peacock: As indicated in the answer to question S2W-19651 on 8 November 2005, Angus Council receives additional support related to the percentage of pupils educated in small schools. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  The GAE allocation relating to small schools is one component of the more complex local government funding formula which is used to calculate a single revenue grant figure for each council. Given the scale of the total funding involved and the wide range of factors taken into account in the funding formula it is unlikely that the level of Angus Council’s financial settlement would be affected by the closure of rural primary schools in its area, unless the council were to close a very significant number of such schools. The current level of funding has been announced ahead to 2007-08, and it would not be appropriate to speculate on the outcome of a future spending review.

NHS Staff

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many locum staff worked in NHS Argyll and Clyde in each of the last five years, broken down by discipline; what the annual cost of employing locum staff was to the board, and what the average salary was per locum for each discipline.

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many locum staff work in NHS Argyll and Clyde, broken down by discipline; what the total cost of employing locum staff is to the board, and what the average salary is for each discipline.

Mr Andy Kerr: The number of locum medical and dental staff employed by NHS Argyll and Clyde, broken down by grade as at 30 September 2005 in each of the last five years is provided in table 1. This information reflects the locum workforce on that date and is not a cumulative total for the year.

  The annual cost for all locum medical and dental staff employed by NHS Argyll and Clyde in each of the last five years is shown in table 2.

  Information on average salary by discipline is not available. However, table 3 provides the average salary for all locum medical and dental staff employed by NHS Argyll and Clyde in each of the last five years.

  Table 1 provides information at a snapshot in time (at 30 September 2005) and does not relate directly to tables 2 and 3 which reflect cumulative and average costs over the year respectively.

  The term "NHS Locum" is used in relation to medical and dental staff only.

  Table 1 - NHS Argyll and Clyde: Locum Medical and Dental Staff by Grade, Whole-Time Equivalent as at 30 September

  

 
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004


All Grades
12.0
11.0
12.6
9.2
8.5


Consultant
7.6
7.0
6.8
4.1
7.5


Registrar Group
0.2
 
 
 
 


Senior House Officer
 
 
 
1.0
 


House Officer
 
 
1.0
 
 


Associate Specialist
 
 
1.0
 
 


Staff Grade
4.0
4.0
3.1
3.7
 


Clinical Medical Officer
 
 
0.7
 
 


Clinical Assistant
0.2
 
 
0.4
1.1


Hospital Practitioner
 
 
 
 
 


Dental Officer
 
 
 
 
 



  Source: ISD.

  Table 2 - NHS Argyll and Clyde: Annual Cost for all Locum Medical and Dental Staff, as at End of Financial Year (31 March)

  

 
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05


Total Cost (£)
732, 583
1, 236, 557
1, 039, 938
1, 222, 928
1, 290, 841



  Source: ERBOD.

  Notes:

  1. Total costs data are extracted from the Earnings Related Base of Data System and provide cumulative pay details for the financial year.

  2. Total cost: gross salary (basic salary plus overtime, enhancements and allowances etc) plus employers’ national insurance and superannuation.

  3. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest pound.

  Table 3 - NHS Argyll and Clyde: Average Salary for All Locum Medical and Dental Staff, as at End of Financial Year (31 March)

  

 
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05


Av. Salary (£)
49, 670
50, 274
50, 275
53, 191
54, 683



  Source: SSPS.

  Notes:

  1. Average salary data are extracted from the Scottish Standard Payroll System (SSPS) and provide cumulative pay details for the financial year.

  2. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest pound.

NHS Staff

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on locum consultant physicians in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) hospital, showing year-on-year percentage increases and the overall total.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on the expenditure on locum consultant physicians by NHS board is not collected centrally. However, information on the total cost of all locum consultants by NHS board is available and shown in the table for the years ended 31 March 2003 to 2005. Information by hospital is not held centrally.

  

Health Board
2003
2004
2005


NHS Scotland
9,980,518
11,166,989
11,572,043


NHS Argyll and Clyde
696,751
932,438
1,024,657


NHS Ayrshire and Arran
443,788
552,053
353,122


NHS Borders
96,179
38,295
85,548


NHS Dumfries and Galloway 
264,909
178,702
257,642


NHS Fife
1,047,571
1,048,054
533,926


NHS Forth Valley
526,339
546,639
851,369


NHS Grampian
827,395
801,736
790,239


NHS Greater Glasgow
1,484,985
1,818,638
2,144,811


NHS Highland
450,673
544,685
489,072


NHS Lanarkshire
1,532,815
1,938,970
1,654,919


NHS Lothian
1,812,643
1,998,884
2,458,804


NHS Orkney
47,447
29,304
226,240


NHS Shetland
-
48,967
6,860


NHS Tayside
439,972
477,150
437,695


NHS Western Isles
257,528
119,482
164,293


State Hospital
51,523
92,992
92,844

NHS Staff

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many locum consultant physicians have been employed in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) hospital, showing year-on-year percentage increases and the overall total.

Mr Andy Kerr: The following tables show the number (headcount and whole-time equivalent (WTE)) of locum consultants working in medical specialties employed by NHS Scotland at 30 September in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board. Year-on-year percentage changes are also shown. Information is not available at hospital level.

  Locum staff are generally employed on a short-term basis and the data does not necessarily represent continuous employment. It reflects the number of locum staff under contract at the 30 September when the census is taken and not the number of staff that have been employed throughout that period. In addition, any increase in numbers does not necessarily represent a corresponding increase in cost as seen in the answer to S2W-19995.

  Caution should be exercised in the interpretation of these figures as the WTE and headcount figures are small. Therefore any changes in the headcount or WTE will produce a disproportionately large percentage change.

  Locum Consultants working in Medical Specialties by NHS Board, Headcount and Whole-Time Equivalent at 30 September 2002

  

Health Board
WTE
% Change September 
2001-02
Headcount
% Change September
2001-02


NHS Scotland
20.3
-9.7
30
-3.2


NHS Argyll and Clyde
2.6
159.1
4
300.0


NHS Ayrshire and Arran
1.8
131.1
4
33.3


NHS Borders
1.0
n/a
1
n/a


NHS Dumfries and Galloway
0
-100
0
-100.0


NHS Fife
0
n/a
0
-100.0


NHS Forth Valley
1.2
-23.5
2
-33.3


NHS Grampian
2.0
-33.3
2
-33.3


NHS Greater Glasgow
1.0
-78.4
1
-83.3


NHS Highland
0.3
-72.7
1
0


NHS Lanarkshire
0.8
-83.0
3
-50.0


NHS Lothian
8.7
83.6
11
57.1


NHS Orkney
0
n/a
0
n/a


NHS Shetland
0
n/a
0
n/a


NHS Tayside
1.0
n/a
1
n/a


NHS Western Isles
0
n/a
0
n/a



  Headcount and Whole-Time Equivalent at 30 September 2003

  

Health Board
WTE
% Change September
2002-03
Headcount
% Change September
2002-03


NHS Scotland
25.3
24.7
35
16.7


NHS Argyll and Clyde
1.0
-61.4
1
-75.0


NHS Ayrshire and Arran
4.0
126.9
4
0


NHS Borders
1.0
n/a
1
0


NHS Dumfries and Galloway
0
n/a
0
n/a


NHS Fife
2.0
n/a
2
n/a


NHS Forth Valley
0
-100.0
0
-100.0


NHS Grampian
5.6
181.9
8
300.0


NHS Greater Glasgow
6.5
554.6
8
700.0


NHS Highland
2.3
732.6
3
200.0


NHS Lanarkshire
0.9
11.1
4
33.3


NHS Lothian
1.5
-82.7
3
-72.7


NHS Orkney
0
n/a
0
n/a


NHS Shetland
0
n/a
0
n/a


NHS Tayside
0.5
-54.5
1
0


NHS Western Isles
0
n/a
0
n/a



  Headcount and Whole-Time Equivalent at 30 September 2004

  

Health Board
WTE
% Change September 2003-04
Headcount
% Change September
2003-04


NHS Scotland
31.9
26.2
41
17.1


NHS Argyll and Clyde
1.0
n/a
1
0


NHS Ayrshire and Arran
0.5
-86.4
2
-50


NHS Borders
0
-100.0
0
-100.0


NHS Dumfries and Galloway
0
n/a
0
n/a


NHS Fife
2.0
n/a
3
50.0


NHS Forth Valley
1.6
n/a
4
n/a


NHS Grampian
1.9
-66.1
4
-50.0


NHS Greater Glasgow
11.1
70.3
10
25.0


NHS Highland
3.1
36.0
3
0


NHS Lanarkshire
3.2
250.1
6
50.0


NHS Lothian
5.5
266.7
6
100.0


NHS Orkney
0
n/a
0
n/a


NHS Shetland
0
n/a
0
n/a


NHS Tayside
1.0
119.8
1
0


NHS Western Isles
1.0
n/a
1
n/a

NHS Staff

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average remuneration was of (a) general practitioners and (b) consultants in 1997 and what it estimates it will be for each category following the introduction of the new NHS contracts.

Mr Andy Kerr: (a) General Practitioners

  General practitioners are independent contractors and not directly employed by the NHS. They receive payments in return for the range of services that they provide to patients. These payments enable GPs to run their practices and take an income. Therefore no figures are available for the income of general practitioners.

  I refer you to the answer to question S2W-18731 on 29 September 2005 for average gross payments under the new GMS Contract.

  The Doctors and Dentists Review Body calculated the average net income for general practitioners across the UK at £46,031 in 1997. The average net income for 2004-05, the first year following the introduction of the new GMS contract will not be available until all superannuation returns from GPs have been assessed in the first half of next year.

  (b) Consultants

  Information on the average remuneration of consultants from 1997 is not held centrally, however consultant pay scales at 1 April 1997 ranged from a minimum of £43,165 to a maximum of £55,705.

  I refer you to the answer to question S2W-18733 on 14 September 2005 for consultants average gross remuneration under the new contract.

  The new consultant contract recognises the importance of recruiting and retaining skilled staff, and although pay is not the sole determinant on these issues it is an important element. It is also acknowledged that much of the increased remuneration provided to consultants under the new contract is quite rightly recognising out-of-hours and on call commitments that were simply not being paid before.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Nuclear Waste

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the transportation of nuclear waste in single-hulled ships in the Minch places the marine and coastal environment at risk and, if so, whether that risk is at an acceptable and manageable level.

Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive has no devolved functions in relation to the transportation of nuclear waste by ship.

  I understand, however, that this issue is strictly regulated and is governed by rules laid down by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the International Maritime Organization. The primary safety of nuclear waste shipments lies in the containers used. For the largest contents these packages must survive submersion to a depth of 200m which I understand is comparable with the depth of the Minch. As well as this there are requirements for ships, related to the amount of nuclear waste on board, including double hulls where this is considered necessary. These requirements are set in International Law and enforced by the Department for Transport. At the recent IAEA General Conference a resolution was passed which recognized that, historically, the safety record of maritime transport of nuclear materials has been excellent. Finally, I am advised that the relevant regulations are kept under constant review in order to ensure the risk to people and the environment from the transport of radioactive material (including nuclear waste) is maintained at an acceptable level.

Planning

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies there are for qualified planning officers in each local authority.

Johann Lamont: This information is not held centrally. The most recent Planning Establishment Survey carried out by the Scottish Society of Directors of Planning in 2003 recorded a total number of 1,673 full-time equivalent posts within Scottish local authority planning departments. This figure included 84.5 full-time equivalent vacancies.

Planning

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authority planning departments will be required to achieve a level of self funding on the basis of higher fees, as proposed in the white paper on planning.

Johann Lamont: The Executive operates a policy of 100% recovery of costs incurred by planning authorities in handling applications from the initial registration to decision stage.

Planning

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the levels of public participation at different stages in the planning process.

Johann Lamont: The Executive does not hold this information centrally.

  The forthcoming Planning Advice Note on Community Engagement will look at issues of public participation in the planning system, building on previous research contained in Getting Involved in Planning: Summary of Evidence and Planning and Community Involvement in Scotland.

  Copies of both research documents are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 24757 and 33268 respectively).

Police

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers were suspended for (a) less than three months, (b) more than six months, (c) more than 12 months and (d) more than 24 months in each year since 1999, broken down by (i) rank and (ii) police force.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive does not hold this information centrally. Police conduct and discipline are the responsibility of chief constables.

Prison Service

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive which prisons (a) undertake and (b) do not undertake body searches of visitors and what protocols or criteria are applied in respect of such searches.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The searching of visitors and prisons in Scotland is governed by Rule 86A of the Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Rules 1994. Prison officers can request that visitors to prisons remove outer jackets, headgear, gloves and footwear. The visitor can be requested to open their mouth for a visual examination and officers can carry out a "rub-down" search.

  Any more thorough level of search deemed necessary would require to be carried out by the police.

Renewable Energy

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there will be consultation on an evaluation of the Scottish Communities and Householder Renewables initiative and, if so, when.

Allan Wilson: Following completion of the evaluation of the Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative (SCHRI), we will be meeting later this year with the scheme’s delivery partners to consider how best the SCHRI might evolve or adapt in light of the evaluation’s conclusions; thereafter, we will consider whether further consultation on this issue may be appropriate.

Road Accidents

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the police have spent investigating road accidents in each month since 1999, broken down by constabulary.

Cathy Jamieson: This information is not held centrally.

Scottish Executive Staff

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in which (a) urban and (b) rural local authority areas there has been an increase in the number of Executive departmental jobs since 2000.

Mr Tom McCabe: The local authority areas in which there has been an increase in the number of permanent jobs in Scottish Executive core departments between April 2000 and October 2005 are as follows.

  

(a) Urban*


City Of Edinburgh


East Lothian


Falkirk


Glasgow City


South Lanarkshire


(b) Rural


Aberdeenshire


Argyll and Bute


Eilean Siar


Moray


Perth And Kinross


Scottish Borders


Shetland



  Note: *Council areas with a population density of one or more persons per hectare (at the 2001 Census) are defined as urban.

Sustainable Development

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made by the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council in planning to make a meaningful contribution to the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

Allan Wilson: In the guidance letter to the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council and the Scottish Further Education Funding Council for 2005-06, sent in January 2005, the funding councils were asked to work with higher education institutions and colleges to make a meaningful contribution to the UN Decade for Education for Sustainable Development. Advice was requested from the councils within the next few months on the most effective way of taking this agenda forward.

  This advice was provided in a letter of 10 June 2005 from the chief executive of the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council. The letter outlined activity in the area of sustainable development, and the intention to take a number of measures to support universities and colleges in contributing to the UN Decade for Education for Sustainable Development. I replied to this letter on 22 September 2005 to provide further guidance on the matter.

  Both of these letters are available on the homepage of the council’s website (www.sfc.ac.uk).

Warm Deal

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to spend the £8 million savings it will make by cutting the resources for future heating programmes for vulnerable groups from £105 million for 2004-06 to £97 million for 2006-08.

Malcolm Chisholm: The resources allocated for the central heating and Warm Deal programmes for 2006-08 in last year’s spending review were based first and foremost on an assessment of progress to date in dealing with the stock of properties without functioning heating systems, and of the scale of the remaining problem. However, the Executive is of course committed to seeking maximum impact for its investment in these programmes, as in all its policies, and will keep efficiency issues firmly in mind in deciding on their future in the light of the current consultation.

Warm Deal

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the number of replacement heating systems installed under the central heating programme to fall from the current average of 1,200 a year.

Malcolm Chisholm: The level of replacements depends both on the assessment of the condition of the existing system and the terms of the scheme. In 2004-05, 5,873 replacement systems were installed, out of a total of 13,027 systems installed under the programme. The Executive is currently consulting key stakeholders on the future of the central heating and Warm Deal programmes, including the issue of the terms on which replacement systems should be offered. We will make an announcement on our proposals in due course. Arrangements to monitor and review uptake will be an important element of the new programmes

Warm Deal

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has to raise the threshold on replacing central heating systems when a system is considered to be irreparably broken from £200 and whether it will make representations to Her Majesty’s Government in parallel with any rise in this threshold to ensure that the winter fuel payment is also increased.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive is currently consulting key stakeholders on the future of the central heating and Warm Deal programmes, including the issue of the threshold. We will make an announcement on our proposals in due course. We are also in touch with the UK Government on the issue of the winter fuel payment.

Warm Deal

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to broaden the eligibility criteria to increase participation in the Warm Deal as an alternative to reducing the existing budget.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive is currently consulting key stakeholders on the future of the Warm Deal and central heating programmes, including the possibility of widening eligibility. We will make an announcement on our proposals in due course.

Water Services

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is acceptable that I received a reply from the Director of Corporate Affairs of the office of the Water Industry Commissioner for Scotland regarding complaints made by a constituent which failed to answer these complaints, despite assurances in a letter of 13 April 2005 from the then Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development that "I have asked the Commissioner himself to write to the constituent, copied to you, at his earliest convenience explaining the situation and answering the points raised".

Rhona Brankin: I am sorry that the commissioner, because of absence on business, did not himself respond initially. I understand that he has written to you personally in the last few days apologising and offering to address any issues you believe have not been fully covered in his office’s earlier response to your constituent’s concerns.